At I/O this year, Google proclaimed that “2018 will mark the true kickoff point” for the immersive web, which brings virtual and augmented reality experiences to a browser near you. To help developers create VR and AR content for the web, Google unveiled the new WebXR. Some of these APIs are still in development, but Google is beginning to let developers experience these protocols today.
The immersive web is defined as a collection of new and upcoming technologies that prepares the web for the full spectrum of immersive computing, Brandon Jones of Google’s Chrome team said. “More generally, what we think of the immersive web is anything that gives the web a sense of depth, volume, scale, or place.”
There are two main technologies right now that power the immersive web — virtual reality and augmented reality. Jones described VR as tech that takes you anywhere, whereas AR is tech that brings anything to you.
To bring VR to the web, Google is replacing the WebVR standard last year with its new WebXR protocol. In addition to supporting the deprecated WebVR specifications, WebXR also supports AR, better forward compatibility, a cleaner and more consistent user experience, and more optimizations. These WebXR optimizations allow VR headsets to display twice as many pixels — now up to 4 million pixels — at the same frame rate, remedying some of the limitations of WebVR, Jones highlighted.
With AR in the browser, WebXR leverages the device’s camera to place virtual objects in real life environments, similar to Snapchat’s filters. In an example, Chrome team product manager John Pallett showed how a statue can be placed on a surface on stage, allowing the viewer to understand the statue’s scale and size, as well as view details and information about the object.
Developers can get started today by enabling the WebXR flag in the Chrome 67 beta. When the flags are enabled, VR content can be displayed in three different ways. First, VR can be shown through a headset, such as Daydream VR and on Cardboard. Second, it will work on desktop VR systems, like HTC Vive and Oculus Rift. And lastly, VR can be displayed in the browser for users who don’t have a headset through Magic Window. Magic Window tracks the view based on your phone’s sensors.
To expand the reach of the immersive web, developers can enable an easy transition between VR headsets and Magic Window with a single click. Additionally, with polyfill support, WebXR can be emulated on older WebVR-compatible browsers as well as JavaScript browsers like Mobile Safari.
The tools for handling AR right now are still being developed in the W3C community, of which Google is a member, Pallett said. The beauty with WebXR is progressive fallback. If a user is attempting to view AR content on a desktop without a camera, for example, developers can add support for Magic Window to convert the AR experience into a VR one.
Scroll through any app for five minutes, and you’ll find someone maxxing something. Their skin, their sleep, their protein intake, even their Friday night on the couch. That little suffix has been everywhere this year, and now it has a trophy to show for it. In a recent announcement, Dictionary.com named maxxing its 2026 Word of the Year.
What are people actually doing when they’re maxxing?
Speech-to-text apps have flooded the App Store, making it easier than ever to type on our Macs with just our voice. I have previously covered one such app called TypeWhisper. However, there has been a dearth of good text-to-speech models, and most of the good ones are locked behind a subscription.
Ollama, an open-source app that lets you run local AI models on your computer, wants to change that. It works on macOS, Windows, and Linux, and your prompts are never stored or used for training.
Did you think hitting delete on your AI chatbot conversation actually makes it disappear? Georgia Tech researchers just proved that's not entirely true. They have built a forensic tool called ORISA that can dig deleted conversations from your phone and even rebuild them into a working chatbot session you can keep talking to.
How can ORISA bring deleted AI conversations back?